LOS ANGELES — German model Heidi Klum, who has strutted from the runway to entrepreneur and
reality-TV host, is trying her hand as a judge on the NBC competition
America’s Got Talent.Klum, 40, has carved a career beyond modeling as the host of the
Lifetime fashion series
Project Runway as well as
Germany’s Next Top Model.

For
America’s Got Talent, she has stepped out of her role as fashion expert — to sit by former
Spice Girl Mel B, comic Howie Mandel and radio host Howard Stern on the judging panel for the show’s
eighth season, which began earlier this month.

Q: What is it like to be in your first non-fashion role?

A: I think . . . (producers) look at me as a judge who has traveled a lot for 20 years. I have
climbed from the bottom up through many different maneuvers, . . . and I think that’s why they
wanted me there. I don’t think they want me there for fashion.

Q: In what type of role do you see yourself as a judge?

A: I look at it as a woman, as a mom, someone who has seen a lot of shows. You know, I think
about, “Hey, is this an act that is interesting? Is this something that I want to see again? Did
that excite me? Would my children love to watch this?”

Q: Do you have any specific criteria you are looking for?

A: I love people that surprise me, that show me things I haven’t seen before. Today we looked at
this guy, . . . he’s a sword swallower. He combined that with pole dancing. He was pole dancing
with a sword down his throat and did that deadly drop that they do at the end sometimes, you know?
With a sword in his mouth.

Q: Why were you interested in doing such a show?

A: I never saw myself as a judge on the show, because I was judging on my couch at home, and
that was it. And when they called me, I was like “Oh, my gosh, what a fun gig that would be.” I met
with them, and I was flattered that they would want me to be part of this.

Q: Does it remind you of auditions starting out as a model?

A: No, not really. When you model, people don’t really care so much what you have to say. You
don’t really have to sing or dance or do a performance. It’s about your look, and they look at your
face and your body. You get a once-over, and people look at you, and either they like your look or
they don’t.

Q: How do you balance work in the United States and Germany?

A: I spend most of my time in America. I shoot
Germany’s Next Top Model in Los Angeles, too. It airs in Germany, but I do all of it from
home, basically, because I can’t travel that much. So I do the finale in Germany and when I do the
casting and look at all the girls, but I take them all to America and then we shoot the show in
L.A. For me, this (show) is the closest to my heart because these girls want to do what I’ve been
doing for the past 20 years.